Vacuum/steam cleaning and pressure washing system

ABSTRACT

A vacuum/steam cleaning and pressure washing system for effectively and efficiently cleaning the floors in a building structure. The vacuum/steam cleaning and pressure washing system includes a wall outlet being adapted to be attached to a wall structure and including a plate; and also including a cleaning assembly including a tool and hoses being connected to the tool and also being removably attached to the wall outlet; and further including a vacuum assembly including a conduit being connected to the wall outlet and being adapted to be disposed in the wall structure, and also including a waste separator being connected to the conduit, and further including a waste receptacle being connected to the waste separator, and further including a blower unit being connected to the waste separator for creating a suction through the conduit; and also including a cleaning solution injection assembly including a pipeline being connected to the wall outlet and being adapted to be disposed in the wall structure and to be connected to a water supply, and also including a water heater being connected to the pipeline, and further providing an assembly for providing cleaning detergent to the tool through the pipeline.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to vacuum/steam cleaners and moreparticularly pertains to a new vacuum/steam cleaning and pressurewashing system for effectively and efficiently cleaning the floors in abuilding structure.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] The use of vacuum/steam cleaners is known in the prior art. Morespecifically, vacuum/steam cleaners heretofore devised and utilized areknown to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structuralconfigurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by thecrowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment ofcountless objectives and requirements.

[0005] Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,551; U.S. Pat. No.5,095,578; U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,599; U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,769; U.S. Pat.No. 5,125,126; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,598.

[0006] While these devices fulfill their respective, particularobjectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclosea new vacuum/steam cleaning and pressure washing system. The inventivedevice includes a wall outlet being adapted to be attached to a wallstructure and including a plate; and also including a cleaning assemblyincluding a tool and hoses being connected to the tool and also beingremovably attached to the wall outlet; and further including a vacuumassembly including a conduit being connected to the wall outlet andbeing adapted to be disposed in the wall structure, and also including awaste separator being connected to the conduit, and further including awaste receptacle being connected to the waste separator, and furtherincluding a blower unit being connected to the waste separator forcreating a suction through the conduit; and also including a cleaningsolution injector assembly including a pipeline being connected to thewall outlet and being adapted to be disposed in the wall structure andto be connected to a water supply, and also including a water heaterbeing connected to the pipeline, and further including an assembly forproviding cleaning detergent to the tool through the pipeline, allfeatures not described nor suggested in the prior art.

[0007] In these respects, the vacuum/steam cleaning and pressure washingsystem according to the present invention substantially departs from theconventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doingprovides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of effectivelyand efficiently cleaning the floors in a building structure and also forhot and cold water exterior pressure washing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The general purpose of the present invention, which will bedescribed subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a newvacuum/steam cleaning and pressure washing system apparatus and methodwhich has many of the advantages of the vacuum/steam cleaners mentionedheretofore and many novel features that result in a new vacuum/steamcleaning and pressure washing system which is not anticipated, renderedobvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art vacuum/steamcleaners, either alone or in any combination thereof.

[0009] There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more importantfeatures of the vacuum/steam cleaning and pressure washing system inorder that the detailed description thereof that follows may be betterunderstood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may bebetter appreciated. There are additional features of the invention thatwill be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter ofthe claims appended hereto.

[0010] In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of theinvention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited in its application to the details of construction and to thearrangements of the components set forth in the following description orillustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways.Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminologyemployed herein are for the purpose of description and should not beregarded as limiting.

[0011] It is an object of the present invention to provide a newvacuum/steam cleaning and pressure washing system apparatus and methodwhich has many of the advantages of the vacuum/steam cleaners mentionedheretofore and many novel features that result in a new vacuum/steamcleaning and pressure washing system which is not anticipated, renderedobvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art vacuum/steamcleaners, either alone or in any combination thereof.

[0012] Still another object of the present invention is to provide a newvacuum/steam cleaning and pressure washing system for effectively andefficiently cleaning the floors in a building structure.

[0013] Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide anew vacuum/steam cleaning and pressure washing system that eliminatesthe user having to drag in equipment from the outside to clean thefloors in the building structure and that also allows the user topressure wash exterior objects such as sidings, driveways, sidewalks,patio furniture, etc.

[0014] Even still another object of the present invention is to providea new vacuum/steam cleaning and pressure washing system that can be setup and used within minutes thus making the process easy and convenient.

[0015] These together with other objects of the invention, along withthe various features of novelty which characterize the invention, arepointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming apart of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention,its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses,reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptivematter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The invention will be better understood and objects other thanthose set forth above will become apparent when consideration is givento the following detailed description thereof. Such description makesreference to the annexed drawings wherein:

[0017]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a new vacuum/steam cleaning andpressure washing system according to the present invention and shown inuse.

[0018]FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of the present invention.

[0019]FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0020] With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1through 3 thereof, a new vacuum/steam cleaning and pressure washingsystem embodying the principles and concepts of the present inventionand generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

[0021] As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 3, the vacuum/steamcleaning and pressure washing system 10 generally comprises a walloutlet 11 being adapted to be attached to a wall structure 34 andincluding a plate. The plate includes hose-connection ports 12 beingdisposed therethrough. A cleaning assembly includes a tool 13 and hoses16, 17 being conventionally connected to the tool 13 and also beingremovably and conventionally attached to the wall outlet 11. The tool 13is a wand having a tubular handle member 14, and also having headmembers 15 being detachably and conventionally attached to a first endof the tubular handle member 14 for cleaning a floor surface. Each ofthe hoses 16,17 has a first end which is removably attached to a secondend of the tubular handle member 14, and also has a second end which isremovably and conventionally attached to a respective hose-connectionport 12 of the plate with the hoses 16,17 including a water hose and asuction hose. The head members 15 includes a vacuum head member and awater-dispensing head member.

[0022] A vacuum assembly includes a conduit 18 being conventionallyconnected to the wall outlet 11 and being adapted to be disposed in thewall structure 34, and also includes a conventional cyclone wasteseparator 19 being conventionally connected to the conduit 18, andfurther includes a waste receptacle 20 being conventionally connected tothe waste separator 19 and having a pumping member 35 and a drain 36,and further includes a conventional blower unit 21 having a removablefilter and being conventionally connected to the waste separator 19 forcreating a suction through the conduit 18, and also includes a vacuumpower switch 22 being conventionally mounted to the plate and beingconnected with wires to the blower unit 21 for energizing the blowerunit 21, and also includes a waste level monitoring sensor 23 beingconventionally mounted to the waste receptacle 20 for indicating whenthe waste receptacle 20 is full.

[0023] A cleaning solution injection assembly includes a pipeline 24being conventionally connected to the wall outlet 11 and being adaptedto be disposed in the wall structure 34 and to be connected to a watersupply, and also includes a water heater 25 being conventionallyconnected to the pipeline 24, and further includes a means for providingcleaning detergent to the tool 13 through the pipeline 24. The means forproviding cleaning detergent further includes a detergent container 26,and also includes a detergent-dispensing pump 28 being conventionallyconnected to the detergent container 26 and to the pipeline 24, andfurther includes a detergent level monitoring sensor 27 beingconventionally connected to the detergent container 26 for indicatingwhen the detergent container is empty. The cleaning solution injectionassembly further includes a cleaning solution activation switch 29 beingconventionally mounted to the plate and to the cleaningsolution-dispensing pump 28, and also includes a water pump 30 beingconventionally connected to the pipeline 24 and to the cleaning solutionactivation switch 29. The cleaning solution injection assembly furtherincludes a water temperature control sensor/switch 31 beingconventionally connected to the pipeline 24 to control and set thetemperature of the water being dispensed through the pipeline 24 fromthe water heater 25, and also includes a manual water flow control valve32 being conventionally attached to the tool 13 and being disposedinline of the pipeline 24 to control the amount of water being dispensedthrough the water hose 16.

[0024] In use, the user attaches the hoses 16,17 to the hose-connectionports 12 in the wall outlet 11 which turns on the vacuum power switch 22to energize the blower unit 21 and turns on the water pump 30 and thecleaning solution activation switch 29 to energize thedetergent-dispensing pump 28 and the water pump 30 to clean the floorsin a building structure 33 using the tool 13 and for cleaning theoutside areas such as driveways, sidings, etc. Once finished, the usersimply removes the hoses 16,17 from the wall outlet 11 which turns offthe vacuum power switch.

[0025] As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operationof the present invention, the same should be apparent from the abovedescription. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the mannerof usage and operation will be provided.

[0026] With respect to the above description then, it is to be realizedthat the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of theinvention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form,function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readilyapparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalentrelationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in thespecification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.

[0027] Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only ofthe principles of the vacuum/steam cleaning and pressure washing system.Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur tothose skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention tothe exact construction and operation shown and described, andaccordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resortedto, falling within the scope of the invention.

I claim:
 1. A vacuum/steam cleaning and pressure washing systemcomprising: a wall outlet being adapted to be attached to a wallstructure and including a plate; a cleaning assembly including a tooland hoses being connected to said tool and also being removably attachedto said wall outlet; a vacuum assembly including a conduit beingconnected to said wall outlet and being adapted to be disposed in thewall structure, and also including a waste separator being connected tosaid conduit, and further including a waste receptacle being connectedto said waste separator and having a pumping member and a drain, andfurther including a blower unit being connected to said waste separatorfor creating a suction through said conduit; and a cleaning solutioninjection assembly including a pipeline being connected to said walloutlet and being adapted to be disposed in the wall structure and to beconnected to a water supply, and also including a water heater beingconnected to said pipeline, and further including a means for providingcleaning detergent to said tool through said pipeline for cleaning theinteriors of building structures and for also cleaning outside areasaround the building structure using hot and cold high water pressure. 2.A vacuum/steam cleaning and pressure washing system as described inclaim 1, wherein said plate includes hose-connection ports beingdisposed therethrough.
 3. A vacuum/steam cleaning and pressure washingsystem as described in claim 2, wherein said tool is a wand having atubular handle member, and also having head members being detachablyattached to a first end of said tubular handle member for cleaning afloor surface.
 4. A vacuum/steam cleaning and pressure washing system asdescribed in claim 3, wherein each of said hoses has a first end whichis removably attached to a second end of the tubular handle member, andalso has a second end which is removably attached to a respective saidhose-connection port of said plate, said hoses including a water hoseand a suction hose.
 5. A vacuum/steam cleaning and pressure washingsystem as described in claim 4, wherein said head members includes avacuum head member and a water-dispensing head member.
 6. A vacuum/steamcleaning and pressure washing system as described in claim 1, whereinsaid vacuum assembly further includes a vacuum power switch beingmounted to said plate and being connected with wires to said blower unitfor energizing said blower unit, and also includes a waste levelmonitoring sensor being mounted to said waste receptacle for indicatingwhen said waste receptacle is full.
 7. A vacuum/steam cleaning andpressure washing system as described in claim 4, wherein said means forproviding cleaning detergent further includes a detergent container, andalso includes a cleaning solution-dispensing pump being connected tosaid detergent container and being connected to said pipeline, andfurther includes a detergent level monitoring sensor being connected tosaid detergent container for indicating when said detergent container isempty.
 8. A vacuum/steam cleaning and pressure washing system asdescribed in claim 7, wherein said cleaning solution injection assemblyfurther includes a cleaning solution activation switch being mounted tosaid plate and being connected to said cleaning solution-dispensingpump, and also includes a water pump being connected to said pipelineand to said cleaning solution activation switch.
 9. A vacuum/steamcleaning and pressure washing system as described in claim 8, whereinsaid cleaning solution injection assembly further includes a watertemperature control sensor/switch being connected to said pipeline tocontrol and set the temperature of the water being dispensed throughsaid pipeline from said water heater, and also includes a water flowcontrol valve being attached to said tool and being disposed inline ofsaid pipeline to control the amount of water being dispensed throughsaid water hose.